


Mutually Assured Devastation

by glittergrenade



Category: Scarlet Spider (Comics)
Genre: Amputation, Ben is a lil jerk, Brotherly Love, Canon Divergence, Drugs -- I guess?? its for painkillers, Gen, Kaine wants to kill Ben but really he loves him, Non-Graphic Mutilation, Secret Empire (Marvel), is what I'm talking about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-23 01:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17673620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glittergrenade/pseuds/glittergrenade
Summary: Through safety and mortal peril, Ben has mad love for his brother. Even if said brother wants to kill him.





	Mutually Assured Devastation

**Author's Note:**

> So, in the tradition of me of late, I write a fanfic and never ever publish it, until one day, I'm going through my notes, and I saw it, so I actually did! Right here. I mean, there's tons I never publish, like most people I'm sure, but this story was actually, gasp, like, more-or-less _finished_ , feel me? ...I don't finish a lot of things.
> 
> So real talk: I wrote this whole lil story before Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #8, in response to the fact that there was apparently no Secret Empire tie-ins in a series set in Las Vegas. Keeping in mind the fact that, ya know, Las Vegas seemed to be completely destroyed. As in, everybody there dead minus one random infant that Patriot found. This takes place during the events of Secret Empire #2. That said, having read Secret Empire is _not_ at all needed to understand this fic. Nor is remembering it, because yes, I know, it was like two years ago now! I suck. All you need to know is that Vegas got bombed to hell, and that's where we're at. Enjoy!

If somebody were to ask him about it later, Ben probably wouldn't have admitted to running away from Kaine. Running scared, Kaine had said, like a smart little psycho. He knew how to taunt him in a way that didn't come off snobbish or self-important. It was a practiced skill.

Ben had been fighting Kaine only seconds earlier. It was so strange. Not too long ago, nobody would've questioned in fight between them that Ben was automatically the good guy (oh, how their lives had took a foul turn). Anyhow, whilst they were battling it out, right as rain, Ben had been distracted by a literal flying tank in the sky. Kaine didn't get distracted — he had trained his senses to ninja levels to make up for lack of the sense a la spider — so Kaine had snatched the upper hand and there was no time for Ben to react. He'd been hit. Thus, this situation: he was totally not running from his scary big brother.

_Zzzzip! Ding!_

Ben stopped abruptly in a handy passing alley to respond to a text. Not unexpectedly, it was from Cassandra, whose daughter he was supposed to cure. Apparently, she was wondering where the hell he was. As he listened the near-silence of Kaine prowling over the rooftop, Ben almost wished he had followed her deathly orders not to leave the casino. Then again, if he _had_ been in there, he wouldn't've been graced with the real ass street view of… the giant octopus poster in the sky.

 _Ka-boom!_ Ben winced, as building one block away seemed to go up in flames. "Missed," he informed the invisible perpetrator in a smarmy triumphant whisper.

This was pure, delicious irony. Ben had traveled all the way to Nevada to get the hell out from all this Parker nonsense in New York. Unfortunately, it was painfully obvious that Parker clones were far from immune to the Parker Luck. Who else even does this happen to? Bad enough being resurrected once. Weeks of torture though, repeatedly being murdered and being dragged back for more, without an instant of reprieve, till finally escaping to do some good, only to be painted as a supervillain? Getting out yet _again_ , this time all the way to Vegas — only to get bombs literally thrown at him out of the sky? Very funny, God — Ben was just laughing out loud! Hilarious. Five-star sense of humor.

Perhaps there was one upside, it was comforting to imagine. If it weren't for this whole bombing thing causing hindrances, Kaine probably would have murdered his ass by now. After all, Ben was literally just standing in an alley texting.

Like cued by thought, Kaine dropped down in front of him. A split second later, the blunt side of a wrist spike was pressed against Ben's neck.

"Kaine," Ben whispered, but his windpipe was being severely inhibited right now.

"Goodbye, Ben," Kaine said steadily, and if Ben could see his brother's face through the crappy Scarlet Spider ripoff mask, he figured his brown eyes would be the most difficult to look at.

"We need to save the people," Ben choked as quickly as he could, because it was the obvious thing to say when one wanted a 'hero' to spare one's life.

" _I_ need to save the people," Kaine corrected. Well, at least his obsession with fratricide wasn't too severe for him to notice the civilians dying like locusts around them. HYDRA helicarriers shifted in above them like giant airborne tanks, raining death and destruction from the heavens. Another building was falling down beside them as if it had been bombed, this one on their street.

" _We_ could save _more_ people," Ben logicked, and it seemed to be working. Although Kaine didn't lessen the pressure against Ben's throat, he didn't kill him either.

"Two is better than one. Kainey, we don't have time to squabble. Innocents are dying. Let me help save them."

"You don't care about innocents," Kaine scoffed — so unfairly — but released Ben from his grip. Success! "Come on. But don't leave my sight. I'm still killing you when this is all over."

"You'll change your mind," Ben was optimistic, but he rubbed his neck. "Okay, kiddo, let's pull these guys out." He leapt across the street, pulling chunks of

"I'm older than you," Kaine was naturally one to grumble, even as he helped a pregnant woman whose leg was trapped under a pillar.

"Experience trumps age. I was Scarlet Spider first. You're a legacy hero," Ben pursed his lips cheerfully, even as more bombs were dropped against the beautiful skyline. "That's okay, though. That Ironheart person seems real promising."

"You are so annoying, oh my God," Kaine grumbled.

"So." Ben continued, as if his brother hasn't just insulted him. "Today's gossip. Captain America is a freaking Nazi. What are your thoughts about that?"

"I really couldn't care less," Kaine spat. "Is this really how you want to spend your last moments?"

"I'm literally saving lives right now," Ben pointed out, hurrying to toss a few giant debris for effect. "Hey look! A screaming baby! Is this yours, ma'am?"

"Don't trust him with your baby an instant longer then necessary," Kaine told the woman as she grabbed the child. Aww. Perhaps he was concerned that Ben would confuse the infant with the ultra throwable chunks of concrete.

"So thoughtful," Ben commented.

"Don't try to suck up to me," Kaine spat.

"Right. So, Captain America. HYDRA. You've got to have thoughts."

"My only thoughts, after limiting his casualties, is how good it'll feel to permanently stop your mouth once that's done."

"Oh, come on. Steve Rogers is literally throwing bombs at us." Ben grinned, drumming his fingers on a block of broken building before lifting it. "Spill them beans. Let out what's going on inside that little noggin of yours."

"For the last time, I'm older than you. You forfeited the Scarlet Spider name." Kaine scowled. He had only said _little_! Apparently he was really sensitive about that. "Look, Reilly, as far as Hydra Cap goes, I don't care and I'm not surprised. Now shut up. I'd like you to focus more on saving civilians and actually earn this life extension I'm giving you."

"I'm doing it," Ben yelped, waving his hands in the air. "Saving people right and left. But how could you not care? He's freaking Captain America. Literally the cosmic entity living embodiment of America."

"And that's done a ton of good for me." Kaine's tone dripped with sarcasm. "Really feeling the American dream."

Ben shrugged. "Even if our lives suck, he's still a symbol. The hero's hero. Most heroic of all heroes."

"I'm sick of your fucking voice, you know that?" Kaine punched away a falling piece of window with unnecessary aggression.

"He's America. But he betrayed America. Isn't that messed up?"

"It's a pretty accurate representation of politics nowadays," Kaine's dry observation almost made up for the previous insult.

"You're funny!" Ben guffawed. "I guess it makes sense your dark sense of humor'd be brought out when the world is coming to an end."

"The world is not coming to an end because one man is HYDRA!" Kaine growled. "Our heroes let us down us all the time! All the time! The people we look up to — our greatest regrets and our greatest envies — the people we try to model our lives after — who're so good they haunt us when they're gone — who actually believe that _with great power there must also come great responsibility_ — who appear to live by that code — they go become a supervillain! Why should Captain America be any different?"

Ben looked in surprise at his brother. Kaine was no longer 'saving people'. His hands had curled into fists, and he was shaking — a blubbering mess of anger and despair that Ben hadn't seen in him since ever he ran in the classic overdramatic antihero getup. Kaine had pulled off his mask as if to vent easier, and his face was surprisingly red. The skin around the degen was peeling from angry tears. He was huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. Ben felt bad for him.

"I struck a nerve," Ben mused, continuing in the rescue efforts enough to pull a firefighter out of some wreckage. Then he stopped short. He paled as a realization hit him like a sledgehammer. "You're talking about me," he whispered.

Kaine looked at him, and his face flushed deeper with embarrassment. "No I'm not." The instant, not-even-rude response confirmed the obvious.

Ben sat down in front of his brother, a strange mixture of remorse and honor waving over him. "I didn't know you looked up to me like that."

"I idolized you." Kaine's face contorted in bitterness. "I blamed myself for what happened to my sainted little brother who could do no wrong. The memory of you inspired me to try to be a good person. Now you're back, and you did horrible things to so many people. I let myself put someone on a pedestal. I won't make that mistake again."

"So that's why you want to kill me." Ben looked away, a feeling rushing to the pit of his stomach that made him want to hurl. Kaine… he had been Kaine's hero. And he had failed him. "I inspired you to be a hero… and now that you no longer see me as one, you don't want to be either. Since I didn't turn out to be the flawlessness you built me up to be in your mind."

"What? No!" Wiping his eyes, Kaine put his mask to jump back into the good fight. "The reason I'm going to kill you is because you hurt a lot of people and I don't want it to happen again. Also, I was never a hero. Just — forget I said anything." He looked around them. The city had absolutely fallen apart significantly more during the emotional outburst. Ben winced.

"Oh." Ben didn't believe _that_ for an instant, but he knew arguing wasn't going to help Kaine right now. "For what it's worth… I'm sorry."

"Mmm… what?" Kaine was acting as if he wasn't paying attention all of a sudden. He was back to saving the day, trying to evacuate people from the heavy buildings now; it had become more successful than pulling them out of the rubble.

"I'm really sorry, Kaine. Not for what I did as the Jackal — although clearly those were some poorly-thought-out ill-devised decisions on my part. I'm sorry for hurting you. I… that's the last thing I wanted."

"Wouldn't it be nice if things like that mattered?" Kaine mused, jumping back from a bomb that dropped scarily close to the two of them.

"They could," Ben mumbled reproachfully, not expecting an answer, but Kaine gave him one anyway.

"In another life, maybe," he affirmed softly.

"I've lived a lot of lives," Ben sang, putting his hands on his hips. The song rang in his head; what kind of a voice did he (they) have? Kaine didn't respond in any way he expected, and he pursed his lips. His head was still ringing.

"Aftershock!" Kaine yelled unexpectedly, crashing violently atop Ben as if in attempt to throw him down the steps to the jagged street. He was mostly successful.

Ben didn't know there could even be aftershocks in non-earthquake unnatural disasters, but that most recent bomb must have been a slow catalyst to some substance held within this building they'd trying to evacuate. Outta luck on that now. Ben let out a hoarse breathy exhale before the wind was knocked out of him, thrown by the blast of the aftershock as much as any of Kaine's protecting.

"Ow…" There was dust in Ben's eyes, making him cry to blink it out, and his neck hurt against the bottom step, and his limbs ached against the concrete road, already so filled with what was turning quickly into the ruins of Las Vegas. _Duh!_ He wanted to slap himself. Of course there was nothing wrong with his voice, that ringing had been his spider sense! Ben was just too emotionally confused lately to catch his own six senses… to even think right. The degen couldn't be getting to his brain though, not yet. There was nobody saner than Ben. He knew his science; it hadn't been long enough.

Not it'd presumably been like for Kaine. "Kaine!" Ben shouted automatically, pushing himself up and brushing the rocks off his spandex. Worry hit him like the Titanic. Kaine… Kaine had pushed him to safety. Had he meant to do that? Where was he now? "Kaine! Kaine! KAINE!"

"…Shaddup."

The soft sound of Ben's favorite asshole sent relief through him like an autumn Bronx breeze. It hit the spot. He started at an instant sprint towards the sound, "Kaine—?" then he stopped, short, unable to finish a single thought.

Kaine appeared to be, in an awful straightforwards wording, a mangled body. No, though, it wasn't any Torchwood style creepiness, but Kaine was obviously more than a little injured, and worse: he was trapped. His right thigh was stuck under a literal building, no less. Those were the observations that brought Ben to a frenzied near state of panic.

"Kaine!" Ben put his hands on his brother's shoulders, then on his cheeks, trying to calm himself as much as he was his brother. "Agh, Kaine. Don't look at your leg, okay? Seriously don't look at your leg."

"Your voice pains me," Kaine practically whimpered, but he didn't look at his leg, so it was okay.

"We have the same voice." Ben examined the place where Kaine's thigh turned into a thrown up building. Was there any way it still together under here?

"We really don't," said Kaine, and it might have been true. They definitely didn't favor the same tones, and rarely gave off the game types of feelings when they spoke. Plus, Kaine had a habit of putting on a deeper thing that made Ben giggle behind his hands. The guy was doing it now, even in so much pain as he must be — what, to prove a point? Ben got it, he knew Kaine was a crazy person. His big brother needed to save his strength.

"Just hang on, alright?" Ben grabbed at a chunk of the building above them, attempting to drag it away with all his spider stickiness and strength. It was so heavy.

"Don't have to save me," Kaine mumbled. Ben looked at his face. It was damp, and even through the black and red he could tell that Kaine's head was bleeding badly.

"Don't be stupid, of course I do," Ben said, studying the building, then deciding to try another way. He grabbed his brother by the armpits, and pulled.

From the weight that crushed Kaine's leg, he must have been in excruciating pain, but the only sound he emitted at Ben's tugging was a feeble moan.

"I mean, you saved me first." Ben tried to keep a light attitude. Kaine had, and he didn't know why. Kaine had been trying to kill him for a while — really kill him, even in ways that were the opposite of fair and honorable, Kaine had been determined to do whatever it took to get Ben dead. What had changed? And was there any logical reason at all to try to get him out?

"Don't remind me," Kaine groaned, as it to hammer in his point.

"Why _did_ you save me?" Ben had to know.

Kaine winced, and Ben knew that his leg must be in agony. With a jolt, he realized he could not let his brother stay like this any longer. But he _couldn't_ get him out.

"Automatic response. Reflex. Even with the degen, when I look at your face… you look too much like Peter."

"Or! Or. Because I, much like Peter, was once a great hero to you."

"Oh, get over yourself." Kaine made a sound breathy snort. "You're a despicable person."

"Maybe you shouldn't be disrespecting me, seeing as how I'm the only goddamn person who can save your life right now."

"I care nothing for my life. I do, however, care about yours. I care about ending it."

"You're a riot," Ben pursed his lips in an exaggerated manner. "Now hang on. It's impossible to get you out of this, so I'm going to amputate your leg."

"What—?"

"Hang on."

The sound of Kaine's scream was like a shot of whiskey in Salt Lake City — beautiful and rare, if scorching to the senses. The guy probably could've used some of that whiskey too right now. Ben grabbed at his torso and tore his leg clean off. (Screw it, he wasn't a surgeon. His genetic template had literally dropped out of ESU.)

Kaine didn't stop screaming when it was done. He did hiss death threats between them, though.

"Relax, I'm sure I can clone you up a new leg," Ben blatantly lied, as he moved what remained of his brother carefully away from the heavy object. Maybe he could if it was done right this instant. But he was going to cauterize the wound with fire. It would not do to have his brother bleeding out on him. He cradled his shrieking brother in his arms, starting at a bound. There was a fire not far away, where something had caught from the bombing.

"Fuck you," Kaine gasped, clinging to him to look down at his leg. "You… you…"

"We didn't have time to come up with a better way to get you out. This city is doomed. I'm gonna have to web you to my back and web swing to a less destructive area."

"We're in a less destructive area, you idiot."

"I'm talking about the casino! The owner hires creepy superhuman psychopaths, I'm sure she—"

"Yeah, well that's obvious—"

"I wasn't talking about myself! Let's hope you don't have to meet Slate. Anyways, I'll see if there's painkillers for you, there's somebody else I need to save."

"Mmhmm." Kaine seemed faint, but it still did surprise Ben the lack of passion in his voice. Though the fire should have stopped the blood loss, Ben knew firsthand how one could pass out from pain. Warren had worked actively not to let him. A shiver travelled down his spine at the memory, which he quickly pushed away. Kaine's current predicament didn't even compare to that.

"Then I'll get the two of you out of the city. Then go back for the civilians." Ben carefully slung the legless Kaine over his shoulder before reaching out to throw a web. Kaine clung to him, gently, though not enough to actually stay on. Ben held him there tight, though after a couple swings, he threw his body upwards, into the air at a glide, to give himself time to web his brother on securely. Piggybacking him while moving just wasn't efficient.

"Hang on, bro," he whispered, but he could almost feel his brother slipping away. Out of consciousness, Ben assured himself. Kaine was _fine_. Ben knew all about fire. He knew. His heart skipped again and again as he swung through the burning city.

He was on autopilot, with everything racing through his mind except for the route to the casino, but he got there, sure enough, and Ben dropped onto his suite's window ledge. He rolled to stand upon the wall, with three limbs on the side of the grand building while he smashed through the glass with his free arm. "We're here, Kainey…" he said softly, slanging his legs over the broken glass. His brother didn't respond. "Hey!" Ben shouted desperately, starting towards the door, before trying to swing his brother off — to no avail.

Oh, wait. The seatbelt webs.

Ben exhaled through his teeth. Well, that had been a poorly thought out idea. There was no time to wait for it to dissolve, and now he'd have to take off his cuddly blue hoodie.

…Nah. He wasn't gonna stoop that low.

Ben ripped carefully through only his brother's costume to separate them. Hey, while Ben's flimsy uniform was made by a loser with a pattern from the Internet, Kaine's outfit was crafted of unstable molecules. The suit could take it. And sure, now Ben would have some red and black hanging on his back for an hour until it dissolved, but what you gonna do when it's the end of the world?

He laid his brother on his bed. Well… ignoring the degeneration, at least his exposed chest and abs didn't seem injured. _I need to work out more_ , Ben figured dejectedly. Looking at Kaine's bod should be like looking into a mirror. "I'll be right back." Ben slapped Kaine in the face right through the mask.

Kaine groaned. That was a start.

Ben had no more time to waste tending to his ungrateful, beloved, big brother. "Aunt June!" Ben was shouting before his feet even skidded through the door. "Aunt June!" She had to be okay, what would he do if something ever happened to her? _No, Ben. Don't think about that._ He raced to her suite, breaking the lock with his spider strength as he tore the door open. "Aunt June?"

No one was there.

Panicking, Ben turned towards the elevator. Where was she? If she had been outside during any of this Hydra Cap nonsense… oh no. Ben heard noises of upper floors collapsing, that made fear scurry through him. "Aunt June!" The elevator wasn't coming — it wasn't working?! Ben turned heel and sprinted down the four flights of stairs to the main floor. "Aunt June," he gasped, then he saw her. Thank God! His aunt June was sitting there at a slot machine, playing her luck.

"Aunt June!" He ran over to her, relieved as it got but unable to keep from shaking. Things were still far from okay. "Aunt June, we gotta get out of here!"

The curly old woman didn't respond. She was gambling, and she wasn't one to stop gambling on anyone else's terms.

"Aunt June, please! Captain America is HYDRA and he's gonna kill us all!" Ben freaked.

This time, Aunt June spoke. "Shut up."

"I'm so sorry!" Ben's voice cracked, his heart about to break into a million prices. "I understand what you're doing is important, but this is life or death and we have to get out of the entire city, Aunt June."

"Aunt June? Seriously?" A new voice — a very familiar voice — sounded from the doorway to the stairwell. Ben jumped.

"Kaine!" He yipped, about to cry from all these swings of emotion, hopping on his toes. Kaine was standing there on his single leg, slouched against the doorframe, chest still laid bare but an air of dark amusement about him.

"You're even crazier than I thought, Ben. Aunt June? You even know this woman?"

"She's, like, my Aunt May," Ben explained, then hurried, "you're okay? You're up?" He raced to his brother, fawning over him.

Kaine pushed away Ben's face. "I'm amazing, Jackal. So, I've long since forged myself an ironclad immunity to pain, but… I did find that painkiller you were talking about, on your side table. Really kicking in. Still, I will never forgive you for _cutting off my fucking leg_."

"You made it downstairs," Ben pulled an innocent grin, letting slip the fact that he didn't believe in this _ironclad pain immunity_ for an instant. "Sides, you're alive. This is what needed to be done. Now I can save the two people in the world I love the most!"

"You do… _know_ … this woman?" Kaine raised an eyebrow, but he sunk further down along the doorframe. Ben ran to his side, hauling him up.

"Okay. We have to get out." He limped Kaine over to the door, throwing it open. Fire was what greeted them. Ben slammed the door.

"I doubt there's many places safer in Vegas we could go," Kaine whispered.

Ben huffed. "You're only saying that 'cuz you don't want to live as a cripple," he snarked tactlessly. "And we're getting out of Las Vegas. Aunt June? Please, I know this place has meaning to you — to us — but your life is so much more important!"

"Please, stop going all mentally ill on me," Kaine mumbled. "That makes me feel sorry for you and makes it awful hard to hate you."

Ben ignored him. He didn't have time to argue with Kaine. "This is Kaine, Aunt June," he explained. "He's your delinquent other nephew. Kind of. Kinda, Kaine, this is only my aunt. Like my Aunt May. Actually, it's somewhat complicated. But we're family, and we're gonna get out of here together!"

"Shut up," was Aunt June's less-than-helpful response.

"Actually, screw that," Kaine muttered feebly, scowling, stumbling into a chair. "You fucking stole my leg. Doesn't matter how embarrassingly crazy you are. I'll never forgive that."

Ben looked at the burnt stump he'd created, then back up at his brother's face. "Damn straight you won't if you don't do what it takes to survive. Please, brother, help me help Aunt June."

"Hey, old gambling lady." Kaine looked at her blearily. "You're gonna die if you don't listen to the man with an creepy obsession of you."

"Hey." Ben put a sharp hand on Kaine's shoulder. He didn't care if he was injured. "Never talk to my aunt like that again." He paused. His skill for keeping a level head under incredible stress was being pushed to its limits. "You'll scare her, man."

"God, you're just too much," Kaine clucked his tongue, staggering till he sunk back to the floor. "She's not scared. You're the one who should be scared. God, I can't wait till I'm ripping that irritating larynx from your throat."

"Shut up!" Aunt June was evidently growing increasingly annoyed from the pointless chatter.

"It's okay, I promise," Ben tried to reassure her, turning. "Look, I'll try to scout another exit. You look after her, Kaine."

"Sure thing," Kaine mumbled, which Ben had to admit was awfully big of his evil twin to do.

He ran to the stairs, in a line direct to the security camera room. He knew the room — locating it had been one of the first things he'd done — but he did not have access to it. Hopefully his spider strength would help with that.

It didn't matter. That part of the building was already a mess. Ben's breath caught in his throat at the sight of the jarring emptiness where the walls and floor ended and the carnage outside began.

The deafening crashing sound behind him made that feeling obsolete.

"Kaine!" he shouted, turning to run back downstairs, and it almost surprised him that Kaine was the one his mind jumped to before Aunt June. Instantly he began to panic about her, as well. She was an old lady and Kaine was a handicapped druggie. Neither of them were of any capacity to dodge… bombs.

Ben reached the bottom of the stairs at lightning speed, then stopped. "Kaine," he cried, reeling. The room had collapsed. The structure even of this well-built establishment was no more. It was the scariest five seconds of Ben's life before he heard his brother's voice.

"Yo Ben!" It was weak, gravelly. "I'm still not dead, Ben."

"Thank God!" Ben gasped in relief, then: "Where's Aunt June!"

"Uh…" Kaine was trapped between a couple hunks of cement, and several coins were embedded in his skin. It was clear the slot machine had been demolished. He was squinting out at Ben through a pile of splintered wood. "Tried to save the old broad like you asked. Tried to cover her. I think she's under me. I don't think she's alright."

"Oh…" Grief drowned Ben like a flood, but he tried to push it down. Ignore it. Now wasn't the time for stalling. "I'm coming over there, okay? I'm gonna get you both out."

Kaine emitted a squeak-like sound. "Don't you dare."

"I'm not going to amputate another limb," Ben tried to reassure him. It wouldn't do any good, anyhow. There was no part of Kaine that could be cut right now to get him out without a 99% chance of killing him. "Just don't try to move," Ben soothed, climbing gingerly across the rubble. He moved slowly, focusing all his mind on the destination. He couldn't let himself screw this up, not like he'd screwed up New U. One wrong step and the whole place could come tumbling down. Thank God for spider sense.

"No, really." Kaine gasped. "Don't. I hate your guts, but not enough to be cool with you dying in attempt of saving me."

"Isn't that sweet," Ben was genuinely touched (he'd knew Kaine really loved him!), but that was all the reason not to listen to his stupid ass. Ben didn't even consider it. For real. "Because your conscience?" It was a possibility. Yesterday, Kaine had seemed to want him dead; like, really _really_ bad. Ben knew it was because of Kaine's internal angst, not truly Ben's fault, but he wasn't sure if Kaine could have become clear minded enough to consider his motives.

Kaine snorted at the question, but the sound came out less derisive than it did like a wounded animal. (Which he basically totally was.) "I don't have a conscience. But… I like to think killing you would make the world safer."

"Ha. Murder for a bright new future," Ben mumbled Kaine's ideals. _Hail HYDRAmerica!_ Sounded pretty catchy to him.

"Exactly." Kaine's dark affirmation meant nothing, and his voice was empty. Well, Ben was pretty sure Kaine would never side with HYDRA, anyways, but Ben would've seriously appreciated the option.

"Well then… tough luck, kiddo, because I'd rather die with you than live alone. Besides, you underestimate my skills." Ben was good at talking himself up. He'd just seen how much worse it had got outside since they'd swung in here. The chance that either of them would make it out of this city alive was… infinitesimal.

Still. It was a chance. And Ben would never have survived what Warren had done to him with sanity somewhat intact if he didn't hold onto any shred of hope with everything he had.

"Hang in there, Kaine," Ben heard his voice say, corresponding to the realization that his foul-mouthed brother hadn't said a word for some time.

His heartbeat sped to new levels when there was no reply. What if he'd been impaled? It was practically impossible to tell his state through all this rubble, oh no…!

"Hang in there!" Ben tried not to let his panic affect his movements. Stay slow. Listen for the spidey sense. The chance that Aunt June was alive was… he didn't want to think about it. This structure could not afford if he started heaving. But Kaine — _Kaine_. He was not going to lose Kaine! "Please, wake up," he tried and failed to do the soothing voice. "Please don't leave me, I love you."

"What?"

The croak of a response was like physical release of tension and fire from Ben's body. He almost forgot about the steady sound of bombs continuing to rain in the distance.

"You're my brother, Kaine, and I love you. I'd happily give my life for you."

Kaine snorted. "I'm not sorry that… I can't say the same. Leg thief."

"Well obvs I'm a thief, I'm a businessman." Keep talking. Keep him talking. It would be easier to figure out how to detangle him from this if he could tell him where it hurt. "You know Bruno Mars' song _Grenade_? I could literally sing that to you. Minus all the romantic parts, 'cause, yanno."

"And you like to ruin a moment by making it weird."

"We were having a moment?"

"You're my baby brother," Kaine mumbled, and despite the ambiguity of the statement, it warmed Ben's heart.

"You're gonna make it outta here alive, and then we're gonna talk more about this," he whispered, reaching out a hand for him. One of Kaine's arms was partially free, from the elbow up. Ben prepared to try to lift off a terrifyingly enormous hunk of concrete as delicately as he could — and the proportional strength of a spider had nothing on proportional agility. He steadied himself, then paused. What, why? Something was in Kaine's eyes through the torn mask, a look of almost panic himself. Concern sparked through Ben.

Then light. And force. And a searing physical pain in so many parts of his body like he hadn't felt in some time now, yet brought him back. It wasn't like being electrocuted, or drowning, but he was being smothered by jagged and blunt objects alike. There were stars behind his eyelids, piercing his very soul, and for a fraction of an instant he could swear he could see his father Miles Warren's laughing intrigue; and he wanted to cry, because he could take no more, _no more_. Please let this be the end. He was terrified this pain would go on forever, like it had before. He hadn't even been allowed to sleep.

And then.

Darkness.

But Ben was awake. And still very alive. This type of agony couldn't compare to any pain in Hell. Presumably.

His breathing slowed, his racing heart and mind steadying themselves as he began to take in what passed for his reality. He was sheltered, in a way, by the very pain that crushed him. Sheltered from the world. No peering eyes to prod him like an object. He was the Jackal now. _No…_ He was the goddamn Scarlet Spider.

Ben's spider sense had been tingling, he realized belatedly, but he'd been too busy trying to show up for his brother to pay it the attention it deserved. And now, all Ben could hear was his own screaming. It couldn't have lasted that long — he forced himself to stop as soon as he'd gained the self-awareness. But then he heard Kaine's labored chuckling.

"Wha?" Ben rubbed his arms frantically, then began to relax. Kaine was okay. And he was… happy? No… Why was Kaine laughing in a time like this?

"You sound like a little bitch," the older clone chortled, a sentiment which soon broke off into desperate gasps. Ben took the time to feel out his surroundings. It wasn't easiest endeavor right now, through the shoots of pain. A brief self-inspection told him that something big and very hard was embedded in his side. Eww. Ow. _Don't be discouraged, you're alive. Kaine is alive. We're both alive._

He was okay. The air tasted of flint and smelled of ash, but he was okay. They were both trapped now, sure, but this just secondary explosion (an aftershock, like Kaine had said before?) had shifted the rubble, leaving a small sort-of cave in which the bodies of both of them were — more or less — inside of. It was terribly dark, extremely uncomfortable, and most definitely unstable, but they were Parker brothers! With their brains, they hardly needed much time to find their way out of this, right?!

"Stop breathing so hard, Kaine, I'm trying to figure if there's even any passage for the air to get to us." Ben was feeling the 'walls' about them, squinting for some light.

"I think I punctured a lung." Kaine's voice was hoarse.

"Oh." Ben paused. "That's alright then." Only one working lung couldn't use up _that_ much air. His own nostrils were burning. What had he inhaled?

"Well." Kaine gasped, and Ben started when he heard the sound of feeble clapping. "Well, it was a laudable effort, even if it was incredibly stupid."

"You're not gonna die here." Ben put his hands on their ceiling, and began to push. Something moved, and he heard some type of effect from above. It wasn't an encouraging sound.

"I am if you start shifting things, that's for sure," Kaine whispered. "I'd be fairly dead if the whole casino fell on top of us."

"Well, I'm open to better ideas," Ben felt frustration wave over him. All he'd had to do was pull Kaine out. That was all he'd had to do. And then swing their way through the wasteland of death traps and ongoing bomb-storm that was this city. And then run, and just _pray_ that HYDRA didn't target them specifically. He'd failed it all.

He lay back to think, trying to straighten his spine, but paused as he felt flesh through his spandex on his right side. That was funny… Kaine was on his left side… then a heel poked against Ben's arm.

"Aunt June!" Ben shouted in realization, shuddering, and collapsed backwards into Kaine. It was one thing to be presumed dead… it was another thing if… "Aunt June," he was sobbing, unable to hold it together another second. He forgot about the rubble embedded into his side: no, physical ailments were now no more than an extension of his grief. He wanted to vomit, but nothing came out as his chest heaved but saliva. "Aunt June," he choked, shuddering, and Kaine infinitesimally shifted about him awkwardly. Dimly Ben realized the inconvenience he must be causing, but the tremendous void that had opened up inside himself left no ammo for thinking. He tried to say something coherent, for Kaine's sake, but before he knew it he realized it his brother had wrapped a fragile arm beneath Ben's shoulders. Instinctively he grabbed onto Kaine's shirt, unable to process surprise. "Ah — ah — she's dead!"

"Hey," Kaine mumbled, still sounding out of it, but sincere all the same, "aww no, don't cry, I'm sure you'll find another old woman named after a month consecutive to May… April is super popular among expectant mothers."

"But not Aunt June!" Ben clung to Kaine like he was the only thing keeping him alive. Truthfully there _wasn't_ a whole lot he had to live for at the moment. That dead flesh — the dead body, casually brushed against, of a person you love… it was haunting. His chest heaved. He couldn't sit back. That feeling was frozen in his mind on repeat.

"You know she wasn't really your relative, right?" Kaine ventured.

Ben knew… Ben knew that his tears were soaking Kaine's bare chest, but it was difficult to care. It was straight-forwards unfair, that he had lost all that he had already… been through so much. Losing his aunt, too, was more than he could handle. He knew he should pull himself together, this wasn't the time nor place for grief, but it wasn't as if there was anything he could do right now to save them, for all his skill and accomplishments he was helpless. "We're all gonna die," he choked, barely managing a softer voice than before.

Kaine, back with his brand comforting. No one could deny that was an off look on him, but Ben liked it. "Shh, shh, no, not necessarily… we'll wait it out down here, this casino boasts the best architecture and _engineering_ in all of Vegas. This turn of events was possibly our best chance of survival."

"Our air is growing thinner by the second!" Ben couldn't help but point out.

"Then man the fuck up and shut the fuck up," Kaine advised lamely.

Oh. Had that been what this concern was about? Air conservation? Well, it was a very fair point that crying used up oxygen at several times the speed of relaxing. _Stupid_. What was Ben doing, crying, anyway? He was better than that. He didn't need anyone. Only himself.

He felt hollow inside.

In proper form, Ben didn't respond to Kaine's words. But he didn't let go of his brother, and Kaine didn't let go of him.

It was nothing though. Mutual survival. Ben felt the pieces of his heart slowly seem to break off into nothing. What if… what if he could never make things right in this misunderstanding between he and Kaine? What if Peter never forgave him for the mistakes made in New U? What if the good guys just didn't like him?

"You know, Ben… I don't know how to say this, but I probably don't have much time left to figure it out. Since (odds are) no one is getting out of Vegas alive, not even us. And now that I'm not the one killing you, I feel like… I sort of _have_ to. I don't know it that makes sense."

Ben snapped his eyes back open suddenly (he'd barely noticed closing them), surprised that Kaine was talking to him. "It doesn't really make sense, no. But I like it. It sounds… kind."

There was silence, and Ben turned his head towards his brother, unsure if he was going to say anything, but ready to wait. The hope that glinted in him seemed unfair. But even if it never did come to be, it was a million times preferable to the emptiness.

Presently however, Kaine took a deep breath. "So it's like this. I did know what I was doing when I literally sacrificed myself to save you. Earlier. Before you chopped off my leg. I just couldn't let you die like that, not just because of my ego _I can't let my own damn target die_ saving _my ass_. No, it's just difficult for me to deal with the complications that come with caring about very imperfect people."

"Uh…" Ben didn't know what to think, but the warmth rushed back into him. "Thanks? I knew you're mentally and emotionally unstable. That's okay. Just remember this for the future, if we have one: you never have to kill me."

"Duh. Part of me was trying to protect people." Kaine's tone was astonishingly soft. "You're a very bad person, Ben."

"No I'm not! I'm a very good person! I never ever tried to hurt people!"

The offense was back in Ben's spirit, and he was conflicted. All he ever wanted was to have a relationship with his brother, but almost as much, he wanted to be _understood_ by him.

"Didn't ya try to kill Peter?"

"Well sure, but I didn't _want_ to, he was trying to stop me from helping people! A lot was happening that day!"

"You're a supervillain, Ben. A maniacal, white-collar supervillain. But so was I." There was emotion in Kaine's voice that Ben didn't expect. Time to fully tune in as Kaine continued. "If someone responsible and competent had been around back then, they would have killed me. I truly wish they had. I…"

"Don't, Kaine." Ben squeezed his hand. Kaine seemed to have gotten his second wind, but Ben didn't have the luxury of opioids to numb him to the increasingly evident decrease in oxygen. His throat felt painfully dry. "I love you."

"I love you too, bro."

Ben blinked. Kaine didn't sound like he was joking.

Clearly Kaine recognized the confusion. "We're family. Peter gave me too many second chances for me not do the same for you."

"Thanks." Ben smiled, a wave of peace and joy overcoming him. It was better to die using up their oxygen angst-ing than to risk dying anyhow leaving things unsaid. And at the moment, it didn't matter that Ben was a _hero_ who _hadn't done anything wrong_. After all this stress, after everything that had happened since the fallout — all that mattered to Ben was that his brother didn't want to _murder_ him anymore.

It was nice. Ben hadn't felt this feeling in a very long time. Was this… happiness?

The next time he spoke though, it was apology. "If we don't make it, I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"Yeah, well." He felt Kaine's shrug against him. "If that was _really_ your goal, you should've just let me kill you when I first got here. I'd be gone from this goddamn city by now and at least one of us would be alive."

Ben smiled vaguely, recognizing the change in Kaine's demeanor as well. "You're funny, Kaine. No one really appreciates that about you. You're much funnier than Spider-Man."

"Like that's a high bar to beat."

Ben giggled self-consciously. (He knew damn well his own humor was directly 'copied' off Spidey. It wasn't his fault.) He was tired and out of energy, despite being the only one of them not on drugs. "True dat! Ahh, I'm glad not to be on your bad side anymore."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." There was a smirk in Kaine's voice, but it was getting quieter and raspier by the moment. He'd dropped his hardass twang. "Ey, in my defense, you know. You used to be a full-blown genuine hero, which I will never be, and… the drastic change is what got me so worked up over it, I mean if you think about it, l should be killing the original Jackal instead. Or Osborn or somebody. But I think something is wrong with you. And maybe I should have tried to get you to one of Peter's money-filled labs to fix you instead. Pills and psychotherapy and experimental procedures and shit."

"Rude," Ben smacked his lips, inhaling deeply as he could.

"Good! Felt almost like I was losing my abrasive charm."

"Ha ha ha."

"You're immature for such a small age difference."

"You're immature for such a big age difference!"

"You're not making sense."

"Ha ha ha."

"Whatever, Ben."

"Whatever, Kaine."

It ended in sleep.

_fin._


End file.
